Heriot-Watt University
Global Director of Research Commercialisation (Business and Enterprise)
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Global Director of Research Commercialisation (Business and Enterprise)
Salary Range: Grade 10 - Competitive
Reporting to: Deputy Principal (Research and Innovation)
Please visit the campaign here: https://preview-heriotwatt.cloud.contensis.com/campaigns/hr-recruitment/global-director-of-research-commercialisation
Key Accountabilities
Strategy and leadership
- Own the University’s global research commercialisation strategy, aligned to Strategy 2035 and to the Global Research Institutes.
- Run the Directorate across all campuses within the Strategy 2035 globally integrated research and innovation business model.
- Set and deliver ambitious multi-year targets for industry income, consultancy, licensing, equity value and spin-out creation, benchmarked against UK HE Business and Community Interaction (HE-BCI) survey data, the Scottish Funding Council's Knowledge Exchange and Innovation Fund (KEIF) framework and international comparators.
Industry partnerships and revenue
- Build a strategic partnerships capability spanning market foresight, bid-building and delivery oversight, forming bespoke teams within the Directorate and drawing in Research Engagement colleagues where opportunities span research and commercial elements.
- Grow consultancy and contract research as revenue streams that deepen industry engagement.
- Support the development of a coherent, integrated international account management so that global partners experience Heriot-Watt as a single university, whichever campus they engage first.
Intellectual property, ventures and the Research Park
- Direct the University’s IP strategy (disclosure, protection, licensing and spin-out formation), capturing fair value while remaining a constructive, entrepreneur-friendly partner.
- Work with the Global Director of Estates & Facilities and the Head of Global Property Strategy to drive the commercial development of the Research Park, occupancy and revenue, and to connect it to the University’s research community, start-ups, investors and government and sovereign partners.
- Provide the commercial infrastructure that the University's entrepreneurial agenda requires, working with the Senior Associate Principal and Chief Entrepreneur, and the Converge team.
Operational leadership and people
- Lead, develop and inspire the Business and Enterprise Directorate across all campuses, building a high-performing, inclusive workforce with clear career pathways.
- Own budgets, cost and risk, and ensure compliance with research, financial, export-control and data-protection requirements across all jurisdictions.
- Embed consistent engagement and IP management across all Business and Enterprise pathways, supported by effective legal, marketing and digital (CRM and pipeline) capability.
Global integration and the GRIs
- Provide dedicated, agile business development support to each GRI, closing current gaps and operating in line with the TRADE (Talent, Research, Adoption, Data and Entrepreneurship) operating framework.
- Work with the Dubai and Malaysia campus leadership to align local economic-development priorities with the University’s global commercial strategy, including country-specific commercial vehicles where appropriate.
- Build durable relationships with sovereign innovation agencies, ministries, free zones and economic-development bodies in Scotland, the UAE, Malaysia and beyond, and attract inward investment and co-located industrial R&D.
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Key Relationships
- Research Engagement Directorate: the closest working relationship, jointly managing the ideas-to-impact pipeline with clearly defined and separate accountabilities agreed with the Deputy Principal (Research and Innovation).
- Senior Associate Principal and Chief Entrepreneur, and the Converge team: partners on entrepreneurship and venture creation.
- Global Research Institute Directors and Schools: identifying commercial opportunities and providing tailored business development support for research and innovation activity.
- The Executive Director of University Operations and Global Director for Estates and Facilities: partners on the Research Park, aligning its commercial strategy with the management of the physical asset, and connecting to the wider University.
- Global Operations Executive: a member of the Executive, bringing a commercial perspective to resourcing, risk and cross-campus delivery.
- Professional Services Directorate: working with Finance, People, Legal, Estates and Marketing so the function delivers seamlessly across the University.
Person Specification
Essential
- Substantial senior leadership experience in research commercialisation, technology transfer, corporate development or venture capital, with a track record of building or transforming a commercial function in a research-intensive setting.
- Demonstrated ability to translate complex research into market-ready propositions and to structure, negotiate and close complex deals involving IP, equity, royalties and multi-party consortia.
- Strong strategic and financial judgement, including budget and P&L ownership and familiarity with venture investment and equity management.
- Excellent influencing and stakeholder skills, credible at the most senior levels of industry, government and academia, with proven leadership of multidisciplinary teams across multiple sites.
- Outward-facing, entrepreneurial and globally minded, with personal integrity, sound judgement and commitment to the values of a globally engaged, mission-driven university.
Desirable
- Experience at or with a top-decile research-intensive university and familiarity with REF, KEIF, HE-BCI and international equivalents.
- Experience leading the commercial development of a research park, innovation district or comparable place-based asset.
- A relevant higher degree.
- Familiarity with deep-tech commercialisation and sectors such as robotics, photonics, quantum, net-zero engineering or health technologies, and experience with UKRI, Innovate UK or Catapult centres.
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Key Performance Indicators
Performance will be assessed against a balanced portfolio of annual and rolling three-year measures reflecting institutional priorities first, with HE-BCI, KEIF and similar frameworks informing but not defining the scorecard. Indicative measures include growth in industrial and translational income across all campuses and GRIs; consultancy, licensing and equity value; the number, quality and follow-on investment of spin-outs and start-ups; the scale of strategic partnerships; commercial performance of the Research Park; effective joint working with the Research Engagement Directorate; and a confident, commercially oriented culture embedded across Schools and research teams.
How to Apply
Applications can be submitted up to midnight (UK time) 2nd of November 2026.
Please submit your CV & covering letter via the Heriot-Watt online recruitment.
We welcome and will consider flexible working patterns e.g., part-time working and job share options.
Heriot-Watt University is committed to securing equality of opportunity in employment and to the creation of an environment in which individuals are selected, trained, promoted, appraised, and otherwise treated on the sole basis of their relevant merits and abilities. Equality and diversity are all about maximising potential and creating a culture of inclusion for all.
Heriot-Watt University values diversity across our university community and welcomes applications from all sectors of society, particularly from underrepresented groups. For more information, please see our website https://www.hw.ac.uk/uk/services/equality-diversity.htm and also our award-winning work in Disability Inclusive Science Careers https://disc.hw.ac.uk/.
Use our total rewards calculator: https://www.hw.ac.uk/about/work/total-rewards-calculator.htm to see the value of benefits provided by Heriot-Watt University.
About Heriot-Watt University
At Heriot-Watt we are passionate about our values and look to them to connect our people globally and to help us collaborate and celebrate our success through working together. Our research programmes can deliver real world impact which is achieved through the diversity of our international community and the recognition of creative talent that connects our global team.
Our flourishing community will give you the freedom to challenge and to bring your enterprising mind and to help our partners with solutions that can be applied now and in the future. Join us and Heriot Watt will provide you with a platform to thrive and work in a way that also helps you live your life in balance with well-being and inclusiveness at the heart of our global community.
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